OXNARD, Calif. — Dez Bryant took it to heart when Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett implored players at the start of training camp to “step up and be a ... leader.”

“Oh, yeah,” the wide receiver said. “That's my job, trying to step up and be one of the best leaders I possibly can. I'm going on my fourth year. A lot of the new guys look up to me.”

Look up to Bryant? A guy who once seemed destined for the Knucklehead Hall of Fame rather than the Pro Bowl?

You bet.

“Dez,” undrafted rookie receiver Eric Rogers said, “he practices harder than anybody I've ever been around. As a rookie, you've got to look up to a guy like that. He sets the tempo.”

Determined to change his image and keep the momentum going from the breakout season he enjoyed in 2012, Bryant recorded a drama-free offseason, signaling he's matured and is committed to doing things the right way.

“This whole offseason, I felt good,” said Bryant, 24. “I felt like me. I felt like me at the middle of last year. I felt like all that stuff was over with the incident with my mom. I felt like everything was on the right path.”

It seemed that way when Bryant made a surprise appearance in March at a “Man Against Abuse” rally in Dallas, where he apologized for his part in an altercation with his mother in July 2012. In November, the Dallas County District Attorney's office conditionally dismissed the misdemeanor family violence charge against Bryant, meaning it will be dropped if he completes counseling and is not charged with a crime for a year.

“We're real proud of Dez, the approach he has taken, his consistency in meetings, on the practice field,” coach Jason Garrett said. “It has a lot to do with the maturity he's made as a person. It reflects in his play.”

Indeed, Bryant has been unstoppable at camp, routinely making spectacular plays that prompt the fans to shout his name.

“I'm comfortable,” Bryant said, “having fun, trying to be the best I can and bring out the best in my teammates.”

Garrett said Bryant meets those goals daily.

“Dez is very influential,” the coach said. “When young players see how he practices, see his passion for the game, boy, that influences them to think this is how you play at this level.

“And, to be honest with you, guys who are his contemporaries, guys who are older than him, more veteran players, see him and say, 'Wow, that's how you're supposed to do it.'”

With his confidence “very high” after last year's breakout season, Bryant has his sights set on being the best receiver in the NFL.

“If you're a wideout, that's supposed to be your mindset,” said Bryant, who set career highs with 92 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012. “You don't want to be second or third.”

“When I heard (the Cowboys say they want to run the ball more), I wanted to up chuck,” Irvin told Bryant while interviewing him after Wednesday's practice for the NFL Network. “With Dez Bryant at his absolute best?”

But one year ago, many wondered whether it was a mistake for the club to have drafted Bryant 24th overall in 2010 when so many other teams passed on him because of his character issues.

Owner Jerry Jones was so upset about Bryant's arrest that he refused to speak to the Oklahoma State product, saying he felt like an angry parent fearful he would berate his child.

But when camp opened last week, Jones had nothing but praise for Bryant.

“You have to recognize how much he's on doing the right things, not only on the field but off,” Jones said. “He's really doing it.”

Hearing such compliments from Jones and Garrett prompts Bryant to profess his gratitude to both men.

“I give them a lot of credit,” he said. “They stuck their neck out for me.”

And Bryant did the same for the franchise late last season when he postponed surgery on his fractured left index finger to continue playing during the playoff chase. Garrett said the gutsy move earned Bryant “immense respect” from his teammates and coaches.

“Dez was pretty amazing,” Garrett said.

The coach said Dallas “seriously considered” putting Bryant on injured reserve after he got hurt in a win at Cincinnati on Dec. 9. When Bryant got word that shelving him was an option, he took action.

After three years as a part-time employee covering mainly high school sports, Tom Orsborn became a full-time employee at the Express-News in October 1985. He's covered the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL since 1999 and has also covered the Spurs, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and a variety of other events, including 14 Super Bowls.